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- PRINCIPAL'S REPORT:
- ROCKS STARS:
- GRADE 7 REPORT:
- GRADE 8 REPORT:
- GRADE 9 REPORT:
- GRADE 10 REPORT:
- LITERACY LEGENDS:
- WHAT IF?
- KMHS REMEMBRANCE DAY - 11/11/2019:
- BASKETBALL TASMANIA - SECONDARY SCHOOL CHAMPIONSHIPS - NORTHERN:
- SCHOOL MAGAZINE / LEAVERS APPAREL 2019:
- SCHOOL ASSOCIATION NEWS:
- COMMUNITY NOTICEBOARD:
It is hard to believe that we are more than halfway through the term already. I know that staff have been meeting to look at moderating student work in their learning areas as they will be compiling end of year assessments and report writing will begin soon. I must urge all students to continue to apply themselves well to their learning tasks and assessments and aspire for the very best results at the end of the year. Thank you in advance to families for also continuing to support student learning at home by ensuring your children have good learning habits engaged. Such things as getting enough sleep and limiting screen time at night; healthy eating and exercise habits all assist.
Wellbeing Survey Results
Following on from this message about healthy habits, I am pleased to let our school community know that we have received our Student Wellbeing Survey results which give us a clear indication of how our student body are travelling in terms of their wellbeing. Some pleasing results indicate that the majority of our students feel connected to school and safe at school but there is still work to do around real engagement. Other areas of focus for us will continue to be building resilience and supporting students to manage their worries and be optimistic. We will share more results as we continue to interrogate the data.
Basketball Championships
Over the weekend of 9th and 10th November we had teams participating in the Northern Schools Basketball Championships at Elphin Sports Centre. Games ran throughout the weekend and we had representation in all age groups, both boys and girls. Thank you to all the families and staff who supported our students over this weekend and especially to the staff who coached teams for giving up their whole weekend to do so, these being Miss Males, Mr Heger, Mr Bent and Mr Elliott.
Congratulations to the Senior Girls Team, ably coached by Miss Males, for taking out the title for the Division 1 Senior Girls.
Arts Night –“ What if?”
On Tuesday 12th November the annual Arts Night was held at the Princess Theatre. This years theme was “ What if?” which provided the students with a fabulous theme to dive deep into when thinking about their work. It sparked wonder and intrigue and we certainly saw this through the work that was showcased on the evening. Some examples of performance pieces were; “ What if the Rules of Science Could Be Broken”, “What if Michael Jackson and Iron Maiden Made a Band” which was an excellent interpretation of a Michael Jackson son with a heavy metal twist, “What if Musical Instruments Were Invisible” – a play on air guitaring that was well executed and an excellent senior dance girls piece titled” What IF We Could All Find Peace”. These were just to name a few and the night certainly provided three hours of outstanding entertainment. Thank you to all staff for supporting in different roles and to the magnificent Arts Team who have given up hours to ensure we enjoyed such a professional show. Thank you to our major sponsor – Key2 Property as their contribution ensures our students have the experience of performing in such a grand theatre like The Princess Theatre.
My Education Day 7
On Thursday last week we had our 7th My Education Day. This was another big day for our school with the morning seeing over 20 businesses and Industry representatives set up in our school for the annual Careers on Wheels event run by the Beacon Student Ambassadors. This was once again a fabulous event and thanks to the BSA's and Mr Elliott for all their work in co-ordinating this event which provided our senior students with valuable information about potential career pathways.
The Grade 10 students undertook their College enrolments as well last Thursday which was a big step in their transition to Year 11/12 in 2020. Grade 9’s are continuing some fabulous work around sustainability and the environment and the Grade 8 “$20 Boss” Team were out and about selling their wares. We continue to ensure that our My Education Days provide our students with a depth and breadth of activities, learnings and experience that will all aid them in their development particularly around career and life planning.
Prefect News
The Prefects coordinated a “Bandana Day” last week to assist in raising valuable funds for teenage cancer patients. Their commitment to helping others this year has been impressive. This week they held a “Sun Day Fun Day” event to raise awareness for the importance of skin cancer and preventative measures around this. It was lovely to see Mrs Ella French from the Cancer Council in attendance to help with the event.
Successful Grant Application
Our Climate Action Group are becoming very proactive in our school and the staff involved have recently applied for a “Resource Recovery and Waste Minimisation Grant” through Northern Tasmanian Waste Management and they were successful!!!
Congratulations on receiving a grant of $4612.00 which the group are hoping will purchase some hand dryers for the toilets to save on paper towel. Well done and we will continue to support this group in their endeavours to make us all more environmentally conscious.
Congratulations to:
Georgia Gillow for being selected in the Athletics Tasmanian State Team to compete at the Australian All Schools Championships in Perth in December along with Abbie Butler.
Jessica Homan has qualified to swim at the Victorian Age Championships in Melbourne next month.
Abbie Butler for being awarded The Examiner Coles Junior Sports Award Female Rising star this week at their awards ceremony.
Maree Pinnington
Principal
As part of our Positive Behaviour Support Program at Kings Meadows we will be acknowledging students who have been contributing positively to our learning environment. This means that they have been supporting our school wide expectations.
Respect for others, self and environment
Organisation
Commitment to learning
Keeping safe
Sensible behaviour
We would like to acknowledge the following students:
Grade 7:
Oscar Alberti - for his positive approach to his learning and his leadership during Literature Circles.
Seth Bassett - for showing kindness towards his peers.
Grade 8:
Ella Fullbrook - for consistently following the ROCKS.
Reza Rahimi - for consistent applied efforts across all learning areas.
Grade 9:
Abbie Butler - Abbie is a newly elected House Captain. She has demonstrated an amazing athletic ability, not over shadowed however, is her caring and supportive nature of her competitors and also her vocal encouragement of her House!
Noah Jackson - Noah has shown exemplary commitment of late, working on his Math skills. His manner and personality is positive and he is a valued member of Grade 9.
Grade 10:
All our Beacon Ambassadors for their mountain of work and execution of Careers on Wheels - Akbar Rajab Ali, Brianah Stebbings, Zahra Rezaei and Leah Fullbrook.
Celebrations
In Grade 7, we are celebrating a wonderful start to our ‘Random Acts of Kindness’ initiative. We have started a ‘Kindness Bingo’ which is a battle between the classes. Each week, every class in Grade 7 are striving to achieve as many random acts of kindness as possible. This may be as simple as holding the door open for a peer, tidying up the classroom without being asked, giving a compliment, writing a ‘thank you’ note to somebody to express gratitude, or lending a hand to someone in need. We have been so impressed with the way our students have approached this challenge with such a positive attitude and we can’t wait to embrace even more kindness in the coming weeks.
In addition, Grade 7 students and teachers have access to a ‘kindness nomination form’, where students can be nominated for acts of kindness. Each Monday morning during our grade assembly, we will randomly select one of our worthy nominees to receive a prize.
As Harold S. Kushner famously quoted, you should ‘do things for people, not because of who they are or what they do in return, but because of who you are’.
Grade Focus
Random Acts of Kindness – thinking about how we can make everybody’s day a little bit better, by being kind, generous and caring. We are focused on finishing the year positively and making positive choices.
Upcoming events
20 November - School Association Meeting 7.00pm
22 November - Inter High Athletics
27 November - Grade 6 Orientation Day
27 November - Parent Information Evening 5.30pm-6.30pm
28 November - Dance Fever
5 December - My Education Day
6 December - Big Day Out
19 December - Grade 7, 8 and 9 picnic at Bridport
Celebrations
We had a terrific My Education Day where we celebrated the success of the $20 Boss students. They explained to us the positive and negative components of their individual businesses and shared with us their profits and what charity they were donating a portion of these profits to.
Mr Hartley, Mr Neilsen and Mr Bent spent time with the young men of the grade discussing leadership and the various elements to being a leader and working with a team. This was related back to school leadership and trying to get the young men to support each other as they strived for leadership positions within the school next year.
Grade Focus
Finishing off the school year in a positive manner.
Upcoming events
20 November - School Association Meeting 7.00pm
22 November - Inter High Athletics
27 November - Grade 6 Orientation Day
27 November - Parent Information Evening 5.30pm-6.30pm
28 November - Dance Fever
5 December - My Education Day
6 December - Big Day Out
19 December - Grade 7, 8 and 9 Picnic at Bridport
Celebrations
Achievements:
Liana Freestone 9D has been selected in the Tasmania Devils football squad, the inaugural full-time season in the NAB League Girls completion.
Hannah Crawford 9C has been selected in the under 17 State Netball team.
Congratulations to the following students:
Athletics Carnival Champions:
Grade 9 Boys Track | Grade 9 Boys Field | Grade 9 Girls Track | Grade 9 Girls Field |
Josh Harris | Josh Harris | Abbie Butler | Abbie Butler |
Oliver Camm | Hunter Nuss | Liana Freestone | Paige Gibson |
Mitchell Butler | Jacob Barker | Elli Fearn | Liana Freestone |
Monique Booth | |||
Elli Fearn |
Grade Focus
Term 4 we will continue with the focus on leadership opportunities exploring the roles and responsibilities for Grade 10 positions. These will include: Prefects, House Captains, Beacon Ambassadors and Peer Support Leaders. On our My Education days the theme with student consultation will be investigating SUSTAINABILITY and making positive choices and contributions on meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. The Grade 9’s will be working in various groups throughout the day and will be involved in activities including making bees wax wraps, worm farms, plant propagation, tree planting, paper making and video recording and photography.
Drama News:
Congratulations to all students who were involved in Drama Night. A fantastic evening which included Dance, Drama, Music and presentation of students' work. Congratulations to all staff and students who were involved.
Upcoming events
20 November - School Association Meeting 7.00pm
22 November - Inter High Athletics
27 November - Grade 6 Orientation Day
27 November - Parent Information Evening 5.30pm-6.30pm
28 November - Dance Fever
5 December - My Education Day
6 December - Big Day Out
19 December - Grade 7, 8 and 9 Picnic at Bridport
Celebrations
Congratulations must go to our Beacon Student Ambassadors for a fantastic Careers on Wheels event which was run during the morning session of our My Education Day last week. 20 businesses pulled up their cars and welcomed our Grade 10 students to inform them about their business and industry. I’m sure our Grade 10 students got lots out of it, including a few freebies.
Well done to the Prefects who this week held their ‘Sun’ Day ‘Fun’ Day, to promote sun safety awareness in our school. It was fantastic to see so many students wearing their summer inspired outfits and enjoying the presentation from Ella French, representative from the Cancer Council. A fantastic initiative and we look forward to seeing more of our students wearing hats at break times.
We would also like to acknowledge our whole grade who enrolled at either Launceston or Newstead College last week. We were pleased with the way students took these enrolments in their stride.
Grade Focus
Our focus for the remainder of the term will for our Grade 10 students to finish strongly and abide by our ROCKS Expectations. We understand that there are many exciting events for Grade 10 students coming up, however it is important for them to remember that the learning they are doing now is going to contribute to their end of year marks and overall understanding that they will take with them to college next year. Students have been reminded about being respectful, displaying commitment to learning and to be sensible in their behaviour. The Grade 10 team continue to have high expectations of our Grade 10 students as leaders of the school until their very last moments at Kings Meadows High School.
Upcoming events
20 November - School Association Meeting 7.00pm
22 November - Inter High Athletics
27 November - Grade 6 Orientation Day
27 November - Parent Information Evening 5.30pm-6.30pm
28 November - Dance Fever
2 - 5 December - Prefects Kings' Culture Week
5 December - My Education Day - Healthy Me Expo
6 December - Big Day Out
Graduations Events
Parents/carers please note that students received important information in regards to the Leaver’s Dinner and Picnic last week, including permission forms.
Thursday 12 December - Graduation Dinner - Country Club Casino (arrival from 6:30pm)
Monday 16 December - Presentation Assembly (invite only)
Tuesday 17 December - Grade 10 Mystery Picnic
Wednesday 18 December - Graduation Assembly
Student name: Kaiden Page
Student class: 10A
What can you tell us about this piece of work?
We have been doing literature circles in class and I read To Kill a Mockingbird. After we finished reading the book we had to write an essay which examined and explored key themes in the novel like racism and inequality in 1930’s rural Alabama.
What is your favourite thing about English?
My favourite thing about English is the ability to express myself and use the skills I’ve been taught to create effective written work.
What are you working on at the moment?
At the moment we are working on a poetry unit. This includes writing sonnets and analysing famous poems. Alongside our poetry work we are also watching the film Dead Poets Society starring Robin Williams which is really inspiring.
What are you reading at the moment?
At the moment I am reading, Lockdown by Alexander Gordon-Smith.
What is your favourite book and why?
To Kill a Mockingbird has made its way to the top of my all-time favourite books list at the moment because of how well written it is and the powerful message it conveys.
What are some books that you would really like to read?
One of the books I would really like to read is the Book Thief and Go set a Watchman which is the sequel to To Kill a Mockingbird.
‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ by Harper Lee - How does the story highlight the issues of racism, ‘good and evil’ and social inequality during this time?
‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ by Harper Lee is a representation of life in Southern districts of the United States of America (USA) circa 1935. The story is based in Maycomb, a fictional town in Southern USA, and follows Jean Louise Finch (Scout) as she awakens “to racism and prejudice” along with all things ‘good and evil’ and the inequalities associated with society during the time (Fine, Foca& Britannica, 2019). Although fictional, the novel is illustrious due to its unrivalled interconnection with realistic national issues of the 1930’s and semi-autobiographical context.
Harper Lee instilled racism as a key constituent of the novel. Within the story a coloured man, Tom Robinson, is trialed for the rape of a white woman, Mayella Ewell. Although innocent of all crimes, Mr. Robinson and the mass of evidence reinforcing his claims were ignored and he was declared guilty. Along with this, the audience within the courtroom were segregated due to colour. It is this complete disregard for truth and egregious prejudice that truly elucidates the racism during the novel (Lee, 1999). This presence of racism accurately reflects the reality of the period.
During the 1930’s, extreme levels of racism could be observed in the Southern USA. The implementation of the Jim Crow Laws allowed for segregation to be legal which resulted in outright racism within all aspects of life (Editors, 2018). The enactment of the laws saw almost everything segregated; toilets, elevators, cemeteries, drinking fountains, hospitals and even jails. It was not uncommon for African American individuals to be killed for disobeying the appalling laws (Smithsonian National Museum of American History, n.d.).
Harper Lee explores ‘good and evil’ regularly throughout the text which underpins the realistic component of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’. Scouts’ father in the story Atticus Finch, is a strong-willed individual who believes that all humans have both a ‘good and evil’ complex, but that ‘good’ will always become triumphant (Lee, 1999). The novel displays ‘evil’ multiple times; when Tom Robinson is convicted because of racist views and when Mr. Ewell attacks Jem and Scout. The contrasting ‘good’ within the film can be displayed when Boo Radley defends the children against Mr. Ewell. ‘Good and evil’ are realistic traits of all humans and therefore can be compared to reality (Kumaravelu, n.d.).
The era of the 1930’s facilitated a considerable number of events ‘good and evil’. The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) wreaked havoc during the period due to their outlandish racist views and vile behavior. The KKK treated black people with such horrid disrespect in the way of violence and murders; they can be described as pure ‘evil’. Although overrun by racism, the 1930’s saw significant improvement in the rights of coloured people and displays that there is ‘good’ in every situation (Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica, 2019).
Social inequality is a key component in ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’. The novel exhibits the inequality of the time by not only the undeniable racism towards the ‘inferior’ African American race but the judgmental perception of those in poverty. Walter Cunningham is a young boy within the story who is treated with inequity due to his family’s lack of wealth. The Cunningham family are poor and this fact is displayed when Walter is offered Molasses and cannot refuse the ‘once in a lifetime’ opportunity. Without prudence, Scout immediately judges young Walter for his choices. This act of judgement towards Walter resulted in Scout receiving a scolding by the house maid Calpurnia on how all individuals should be treated with respect (DiGenarro & Mace, 2012, p.2-3).
Harper Lee has accurately used social inequality within this story to create an interconnection with reality. The Great Depression of the 1930’s left many families in poverty and with that came relentless judgement. The inability to afford new clothing etcetera meant that families, such as the Cunningham’s, were viewed as inferior. By incorporating social inequality within ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’, Harper Lee has once again created a practical interpretation of The Great Depression and 1930’s life (Editors, 2009).
Harper Lee’s interpretation of the key constituents of the 1930’s; racism, ‘good and evil’ and social inequality, clearly depict the era with accuracy. The components of the novel convey a realistic illustration and ultimately can be used to instill thought within a reader’s mind. Historical evidence truly supports the insights of Harper Lee as she highlighted key themes within ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’.
References
DiGenarro, E., & Mace, R. (2012). Literary Analysis: To Kill a Mockingbird.
Editors, H. (2018, February 28). Jim Crow Laws. Retrieved October 22, 2019, fromhttps://www.history.com/topics/early-20th-century-us/jim-crow-laws
Editors, H. (2009, October 29). Great Depression History. Retrieved October 23, 2019, from https://www.history.com/topics/great-depression/great-depression-history
Editors of Britannica Encyclopedia. (2019, August 21). Ku Klux Klan. Retrieved October 22, 2019, from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ku-Klux-Klan
Fine, L., Foca, A., & Britannica. (2019, September 6). To Kill a Mockingbird. Retrieved October 22, 2019, from https://www.britannica.com/topic/To-Kill-a-Mockingbird
Kumaravelu, R. (n.d.). Good and Evil in To Kill A Mockingbird. Retrieved October 22, 2019, from https://www.academia.edu/8292957/Good_and_Evil_in_To_Kill_A_Mockingbird
Lee, H. (1999). To Kill a Mockingbird 40th. Nashville, TN: HarperCollins Christian Publishing.
Smithsonian National Museum of American History. (n.d.). Jim Crow Laws - Separate Is Not Equal. Retrieved October 22, 2019, from https://americanhistory.si.edu/brown/history/1-segregated/jim-crow.html
What if 130 teenagers came together onstage to share their inspired, collaborative efforts?
What if 300 audience members flocked to the Princess Theatre to have a great Tuesday night out?
WHAT IF? – KMHS ARTS NIGHT 2019 was an evening made up of memorable moments of many kinds, all originating from the creative minds of Music, Dance, Drama and Visual Art students from grades 8 to 10.
The Arts staff would like to sincerely thank everyone who supported the process and performance in any way, including parents, teaching and support staff and of course the wonderful students themselves. A special thankyou must also go to ex-student Hannah Coleman, who generously gave up a significant amount of her precious exam preparation time to assist with the set-up and running of the audio desk. Just another indication of how much our annual Arts Night means to our students, even after they graduate!
Please enjoy the following slideshow of some of the highlights of the evening.
KMHS REMEMBRANCE DAY - 11/11/2019:
Last Monday we were invited to attend and mark Remembrance Day at the Longford Cenotaph. Eliza and Kaiden along with Mrs Pinnington attended laying a wreath on behalf of our school and community.
We also marked the day with a special recess time announcement and moments silence. Thank you to all students who were incredibly respectful during this time.
BASKETBALL TASMANIA - SECONDARY SCHOOL CHAMPIONSHIPS - NORTHERN:
Kings Meadows High School had four teams participating in the Northern High School Basketball Championships on November 9-10. All players gave their all with many wins, some close losses and a lot of competitive spirit.
Congratulations to all students that represented our school, you all did amazingly well and we are proud of the way each and every one of you conducted yourselves in this tournament. Final results are as follows:
Junior Girls placed 3rd in Div 2
Junior Boys placed 5th in Div 2
Senior Boys were 4th in their Div 2 pool and
Senior Girls were crowned Northern Champions in Division 1!!
A massive thank you should go to our teachers Mr Heger, Mr Elliott, Mr Bent and Miss Males who gave up their weekend to coach our teams and to family and friends for supporting our teams and helping out with bench duties on both days. Congratulations Team Meadows!
SCHOOL MAGAZINE / LEAVERS APPAREL 2019:
Please be advised that the school is currently in the process of preparing the end of year school year magazine and leavers apparel. Student’s first and family names will be printed in the school magazine (unless you have indicated otherwise on the enrolment or validation form).
If you do NOT wish to have your child/children’s full name printed in this publication, please provide this request to the school office by Monday 25th November. (Changes will not be able to be made after this time due to printing deadlines).